


Righteous Fury

by celtic7irish



Category: Venom (Movie 2018)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Forced Healing by Symbiote (Riot), Implied/Referenced Torture, Other, Protective Venom Symbiote (Marvel)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-20
Updated: 2019-05-20
Packaged: 2020-03-08 15:21:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18897322
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/celtic7irish/pseuds/celtic7irish
Summary: Life Foundation has a new Symbiote in its possession.  Venom will not stand for it. And Eddie? Well, he's just along for the ride.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first foray into this fandom, so I hope I did them justice.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Eddie muttered under his breath, crouched in the shadows a distance from the building he’d been staking out for the better part of a week.

 

 _IT IS THE BEST IDEA, EDDIE!_ Venom told him excitedly.  _WE KNOW IT IS IN THERE! WE MUST FIND IT, EDDIE!_

“It” was another symbiote, the last one that Life Foundation had in its possession.  Venom said its name was Fury, which made Eddie want to giggle hysterically.  He had tried to explain to who Nick Fury was, but Venom had been more interested in the men trying to shoot them at the time than in some puny human who led a super-secret spy organization.  And Venom wasn’t one much for jokes; klyntar’s apparently had no sense of humor.

 

“Whatever you say, love,” Eddie murmured, feeling Venom flow around him, warm and liquid like stepping into a bath.  They were strong like this; strong and fierce and with the weirdest craving for human brains. 

 

 _YES,_ Venom agreed smugly before launching them towards the Life Foundation building. _FURY IS SPECIAL. LIKE US._

 

Eddie didn’t know what that meant.  Special as in not-evil? Or special in some other way?  It didn’t really matter, he supposed.  Life Foundation _could not_ be allowed to keep a Symbiote, not after the human trials and Riot’s rampage.  If they could control another being like Venom, then Carlton Drake’s plans could be put back in motion.  The meteorite containing the klyntar colony could be found, and Life Foundation could restart their project on Symbiote Soldiers.  No, it was better to rescue Fury now, and then decide what to do with it.

 

The guards at the front gate weren’t any kind of challenge, and in seconds, they were climbing the side of the building without having set off any alarms.  Venom had a moment of regret that it hadn’t been able to spare the time to eat the guards’ heads, but it was more important to find Fury.  There would be more bad guys; there were always more bad guys.

 

Eddie mostly just tried to relax (he still really, really hated heights) and go along for the ride, trying not to think too hard about whether the guards had any family that would be left behind, or whether they knew what sort of people they were protecting. But Venom caught the stray thought anyhow.  _THEY WERE BAD MEN, EDDIE! THEY WANTED TO SHOOT US! BUT WE WERE FASTER._  

 

They were inside now, having shattered a glass window, and Venom retreated, its battle form large and obviously alien.  Eddie would blend in better here, increasing their chances of finding Fury before the guards found them, which Venom had grudgingly acknowledged.

 

“Okay, love,” Eddie murmured quietly, pressed against the wall as he looked suspiciously down the hallway, “can you like, I don’t know, sense it or something?”

 

It was really weird feeling Venom’s version of an eye roll _in his head_ , but it answered him anyhow.  _YES, EDDIE.  IT IS KLYNTAR._ That….explained absolutely nothing, but whatever.  Eddie had certainly done more on less information before.

 

Eddie spared a moment to be grateful that it was the dead of the night as they made their way down the abandoned hallway, Venom’s impatience feeding into Eddie’s own anxiety, making him slightly more careless as they moved.  Careless enough that he didn’t even notice the camera overhead.

 

The next thing he knew, sirens were wailing and lights were flashing, a painful strobe that momentarily blinded Eddie.  With a roar, Venom emerged.  _WHAT IS THIS, EDDIE?!_ It demanded.  _NOISY!_

 

“Yeah, well, I don’t know what you were expecting,” Eddie told it as Venom’s arm extended and slammed into the elevator doors they were running towards.  “Security systems are a thing.”

 

 _NOISY,_ Venom complained again as they reached the elevator doors.  Eddie had a brief second of seeing through Venom’s eyes that there was no actual elevator, and then they were falling.  Eddie tried not to scream - Venom didn’t like it when he screamed when Venom was in charge of their body.

 

Venom stopped their fall by the simple convenience of sticking them to the wall several floors down.  Eddie had the feeling that they were actually underground now, which seemed counterproductive given the fact that they had _climbed_ the walls.  Then again, higher floor, less security.  The underground levels were where Eddie had first found Venom, after all. Or where Venom had found him, if they were going to be technical about it.

 

 _EDDIE IS OURS,_ Venom agreed, catching onto his thoughts.  _WE FOUND EDDIE, NOW EDDIE IS US._   Eddie didn’t even try to hide the warm feeling that squirmed inside him at the thought of being claimed so very thoroughly.  He was a disaster at relationships, but this was something altogether different, possessive and determined and _necessary_.  The klyntar needed a host body to survive.  And Eddie apparently needed a parasitic symbiote in his life.  Because why the hell not? 

 

 _THIS WAY!_ Venom said excitedly, turning them down a hallway and coming face to face with half a dozen armed guards, weapons up and aimed at them.  _“YOU SHOULD RUN,”_ Venom advised them, not waiting for them to decide before they were crashing into them.  The guards scattered with shouts of alarm, but managed to hold onto their weapons.  Eddie caught a brief flash of an odd-looking muzzle, and then they were screaming.

 

“Venom!” Eddie cried as the Symbiote wavered and broke apart around him, writhing in agony.  _Sound_ , he realized belatedly.  The guns weren’t shooting bullets.  They were shooting sonic waves.  He had to get them out of there!

 

He really should have expected the shock stick.  The last thing he heard was Venom’s agonized cry.  _EDDIE!_


	2. Chapter 2

Everything hurt, and he was shivering with cold, despite being covered in sweat.  His head was pounding, and his mouth was dry.  He felt like he’d been on a week-long bender, though he knew it couldn’t be that.  Eddie didn’t drink more than the occasional beer, and Venom didn’t like the taste of alcohol.

 

“Ow,” he mumbled, trying to bring his hands forward to scrub over his face.  The sudden jerk of his arm and the clink of metal on metal made him groan for an entirely different reason.  “Dammit,” he mumbled, trying to clear the fog in his head.  He coughed, tasting copper, and realized that more than just being capture, he was _hurt_.  He shouldn’t be hurt, not with Venom healing him every time he was damaged.

 

“Venom?” he rasped, realization setting in, followed closely by panic.  He remembered the sonic waves, the noise agony to Venom as it shook it apart, devastating in its effectiveness.  The electric shock in addition had obviously been too much for the klyntar.

 

“No need to worry, your alien friend is just fine,” a familiar, and entirely unwelcome voice, answered him.

 

Eddie didn’t turn his head to follow the other man’s path across the room.  “Didn’t you die in the explosion?” he rasped.

 

“Me?” Carlton Drake asked, coming to a stop in front of him, radiating arrogance and amusement in equal measure.  “Riot is not that weak.”  Black ooze rippled around him, and Eddie realized that Drake wasn’t the only one he needed to worry about.  They had barely beaten Riot the first time, only successful thanks to Anne’s interference.  And Venom had very nearly died as well in the process, saving Eddie from the fire.

 

Which left Eddie with a sinking feeling.  “It was a trap,” he mumbled.  “You wanted us here.”

 

 ** _“We did,”_** Riot said, Drake’s voice taking on an odd harmonial tone that meant that the klyntar was speaking through its host. “ ** _But we did not lie.  Another of our kind is here, a spawn.”_**

 

Eddie stared for a moment, uncomprehending.  A spawn? As in a child?  Did klyntar have children? It made sense, he supposed, but how did that work?  Klyntar didn’t have genders, not as Eddie understood them, at least.  Were they more like clones? Or did klyntar actually mate?

 

He shook his head.  There would be time - hopefully - to ask questions later.  After he’d found Venom and they’d gotten the hell out of dodge.  Which moved him on to the next question.  “Why am I still alive?” he asked.

 

Drake’s smile was sharp, and filled with far too many teeth.  **_“We want Venom.  It escaped us. But it will come for you, Eddie,”_** the Symbiote crooned.  **_“And when it does, we will destroy it.”_**

 

Eddie swallowed, hoping that Venom would stay away.  “You’re wrong,” he managed to rasp.  “Venom won’t come here.  There are other hosts.  I was just convenient.”  He wasn’t sure how much of that he really believed - Venom had stuck with him despite being surrounded by thousands of possible hosts every day in the city.  But that still didn’t mean that Eddie wasn’t expendable, that Venom wouldn’t choose survival over whatever weird-ass relationship the two of them had.

 

Riot laughed, and there was something manic in that.  Taking over its host, Riot gripped Eddie firmly by the chin, claws digging into his cheeks and drawing blood, which Riot licked up with a long tongue.  Eddie tried not to vomit.

 

 ** _“It will come for you.  And Venom will die,”_** Riot told him, absolutely certain.  **_“And if Venom does not come before our patience runs out, we will eat you and kill it anyhow.”_**

 

Eddie swallowed, fear and anger warring for dominance.  Riot saw it and grinned.  **_“Perhaps not certain after all, are you, Eddie?”_** it taunted, pulling back slowly.  Eddie didn’t relax, his eyes tracking the Symbiote warily.

 

A moment later, Carlton Drake was standing back in front of him.  He leaned in close, and Eddie recoiled instinctively, though he didn’t get far, being strung up as he was.  “You’d better hope Venom shows up soon,” Drake told him softly, almost kindly.  “Because Riot won’t kill you quickly.  It is remarkably patient when it wants something badly enough.”

 

Eddie swallowed, meeting Drake’s eyes.  He’d never backed down from a threat before, he certainly wasn’t about to start now.  “Then you’d better hope it’s more patient with you,” he retorted.  “Because from what I hear, your usefulness has about run out.”

 

Drake’s face contorted in rage for a split moment before his fist crashed into Eddie’s side, straight into his kidney.  Eddie cried out sharply before biting his tongue until he tasted blood, closing his eyes and bracing himself as blow after blow was rained down upon him, each one hitting its mark.

 

It could have gone on for hours, if Drake’s stamina was boosted by Riot, but after several interminable minutes, it stopped, leaving Eddie hanging from his chains, panting, blood at the corner of his mouth.  But Drake looked calmer, his eyes unfocused in a look that Eddie recognized as he spoke to the Symbiote inside him.

 

A moment later, a cruel smile crossed his face as he leaned forward again.  “Don’t think this is the end, Brock,” Drake told him, fisting a hand in his hair and yanking his head back, baring his throat.  “Riot says he can heal you, over and over again.  So I can do whatever I’d like, and you won’t die.”

 

Eddie had a brief moment for realization to set in as Drake held his hand up, the familiar Symbiote ooze covering his arm from shoulder to fingers and ending in a sharp, lethal point, aimed straight at Eddie.

 

And a moment later, the screaming started, masking the sound of Carlton’s laughter.


	3. Chapter 3

The next time Eddie woke up, it was to the horrible feeling of a Symbiote rifling through his body.  He knew instantly that it wasn’t Venom; Venom was careful now, eating only what was allowed and healing it afterwards, doing its best to keep Eddie healthy and whole.  The parasite inside him now didn’t care about any of that, and Eddie gagged as the klyntar filled his throat before spilling out of his mouth, heedless of the damage done along the way.  Nothing permanent, Eddie was sure, but his throat felt like he’d swallowed ground glass and he was pretty sure he was now missing a tooth. 

 

Riot dropped to the ground before making its way to its waiting host, merging smoothly with Drake, who looked amused again.  “Did you enjoy that, Brock?” he asked.

 

Eddie should shut up; he knew he should.  But he’d never done it before, so why start now?  “How about you and your rapey parasite goo stay over there, and I’ll just hang out for a while?” he managed to mumble.

 

But Drake just chuckled, seemingly sated for the moment.  “Next time, I’ll make sure you’re conscious for that part,” he promised Eddie.  Just then, the door opened, and a pair of scientists walked into the room, carefully not looking at Eddie.  They spoke to Drake in hushed whispers for a moment before scurrying back out.

 

“Ah, it seems that Fury is being...difficult,” he informed Eddie.  “So if you’ll excuse me, I must go tend to it.” 

 

As if he actually had any say in the matter, Eddie snorted.  “Oh, no, by all means. I’ll just wait here, shall I?” he snarked.

 

Drake shot him an unimpressed look before striding out of the room, leaving Eddie alone in the silence.  With no one there to see him, Eddie let his head fall forward, his shoulders aching from their extended position.  It was only a matter of time before breathing became a serious issue.

 

His panting breaths were loud in the silence of the room, and Eddie realized that he couldn’t hear anything beyond the doorway.  A soundproof room, then.  That might explain why nobody had come running while Riot was seeing just how many holes he could put in Eddie before the man passed out from pain and blood loss.  And he couldn’t shake the oily, horrible feeling that had been Riot moving through him.  The only good thing was that if Riot had rifled through his brain while he was in there, Eddie didn’t remember it.

 

Busy contemplating how his life had wound up here - poor life choices, mostly - Eddie almost didn’t hear the slither of something sliding across the floor behind him.  Careful not to move, in case he was being watched, Eddie breathed a sigh of relief when a familiar tendril wrapped around his ankle before sinking into him.  Venom settled inside of Eddie like it belonged there, but it was agitated, restless.  _EDDIE! EDDIE! WHAT DID THEY DO?_ Venom demanded.

 

“Nothing that I wouldn’t have expected, love,” Eddie murmured, the term of endearment slipping from his mouth as easily as it always had.  Where Riot had been a horrible, greasy darkness full of rage and bloodlust, Venom was calmer, and obviously more concerned about Eddie’s health as he healed what damage Riot had left behind.

 

 _EDDIE IS OURS!_   Venom snarled.  _HOW DARE RIOT TRY TO TAKE WHAT BELONGS TO US! WE ARE VENOM!_   Long black tendrils slid out of Eddie, gentler than usual as they broke the chains around his wrists and ankles, Venom manipulating him from inside so they didn’t collapse in a heap on the floor.

 

“Did you find Fury?” Eddie asked as he moved towards the only door, Venom quieter than usual.  If Eddie didn’t know better, he’d say Venom was still uneasy.  “And how’d you get in here anyhow?” he asked curiously, trying to distract the Symbiote.

 

 _I HITCHED A RIDE,_ Venom told him smugly.  Eddie got brief flashes of one of the scientists that had come in to speak with Drake, Venom cleverly disguised as a watch around his wrist.  No doubt the actual watch had probably been destroyed.

 

“Good job there, love,” he praised the Symbiote, feeling Venom’s smug pride suffusing him.  He gave a small smile; Venom would be unbearable after this.  “Fury?” he prompted again.

 

 _YES!_ Venom told him.  _A SPAWN!  IT IS CLOSE! WE MUST HURRY!_ By now, they were standing in front of the door, and Eddie just raised an eyebrow, waiting.  When Venom flowed over him this time, Eddie embraced the transformation, eyes wide open as they slammed the door open and spilled into the hallway. 

 

Venom turned them to the left, and Eddie felt a fierce triumph run through them as they killed the first two scientists they came across before they had time to even realize what was happening.  Eddie thrilled in Venom’s speed, the Symbiote’s own fierce protectiveness surrounding him.  _This_ was what Eddie lived for now, the exhilaration that came with the hunt, with the speed and power that being a Symbiote’s host gave him.

 

Venom felt his joy and triumphed with him, moving even faster, tearing down the corridors now, heading deeper into the Life Foundation.  When they came across guards, Venom slammed the weapons from their hands, occasionally taking the entire limb. _“WE ARE VENOM!”_ it crowed, slamming a guard into the wall before letting him slump to the floor, unconscious or dead.

 

They were nearly at their target - Eddie could feel Venom’s increasing excitement - when Riot made its appearance, slamming the door right in front of them open with so much force that it tore from its hinges and slammed into the opposite war with a resounding crash.

 

Venom and Riot came together in a clash of teeth and claws, tearing at each other.  Eddie braced himself, looking for an opening, remembering the awful feeling of Venom being ripped away from him, leaving them both defenseless.  But Venom had a plan this time, and it flowed around Riot, leaving Eddie behind.  _GET FURY, EDDIE!_ Venom ordered as he did his best to wrap around Riot, fighting for control of Riot’s host.

 

Eddie froze for a long moment, but then Riot and Venom slammed into the wall in front of him, prompting him to move.  He scrambled for the room that Riot had just come out of, pausing once he was halfway in the room and looking around wildly.  If Fury was another klyntar, then he should be in a container somewhere, right?  But there was no sign of any alien parasite in the room, and Eddie spun in a slow circle, frowning.  Venom had seemed to sure that the spawn was here.  So where the hell was it?

 

A soft thump was the only warning he had before he was tackled from behind, a heavy weight on his back, pinning him down at his shoulders and the small of his back.  Hands dug painfully into his shoulders, and Eddie cried out sharply.  He’d found the Symbiote.  Or rather, it had found him.

 

Hands wrapped around his throat, and Eddie realized it was a woman on top of him.  “Fury?” he choked out.

 

 **“You know us?”** Fury asked, sounding curious even as it continued choking the breath out of Eddie.  **“They call us that.  Is that what we are?  Are we Fury?”**   Oh, shit, so that’s what Venom and Riot had meant by a spawn.  This klyntar was just a child, possibly created in this very lab from pieces of another of its kind. 

 

A terrifying thought crossed Eddie’s mind.  Was Fury Venom’s child? Is that why Venom was so eager to get to it?

 

He opened his mouth to answer, but the fingers around his throat had tightened, and all that came out was a strangled groan.  Out in the hallway, Riot and Venom were still fighting, accompanied by roars of rage and the screams of the dying men caught the crossfire.  It wasn’t like they could shoot Venom when he was intertwined with Riot, unless they wanted to be eaten by a pissed off Symbiote.

 

Fury seemed to realize he was trouble speaking and it loosened the fingers around Eddie’s throat just a little.  Eddie gave a cough, then rasped, “Yes.  Your name is Fury,” he gritted out.  “And that’s Venom outside, trying to buy us time to rescue you.”

 

 **“Rescue?”** Fury asked curiously.  **“We do not need rescuing.  We are Fury, and we like it here. There is food, and many, many hosts.”**

 

“But don’t you want to be free?” Eddie asked, a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

 

Fury leaned over him, long hair brushing against Eddie’s face.  **“We are free,”** Fury told him, grinning, sharp teeth only inches from Eddie’s eye.  And with that, they Symbiote was gone, out the door. 

 

“Shit,” Eddie gasped, scrambling to his feet, ignoring the way his shoulders ached, the bruises he was sure to have on his back and knees.  “Venom!” he called, dashing out the door and into the hallway, glancing around wildly before following the sounds of yelling, hoping that the continued screaming meant Venom was still alive.  He _had_ to be alive; Eddie needed him.

 

“Venom!” he shouted, running into a large circular chamber and stopping in horror.  The Symbiote’s were still clashing, black goo and body parts everywhere.  The floor was slick with blood, but Eddie only had eyes for one of them.

 

He didn’t know what Venom did, but the next thing he knew, the Symbiote was racing across the stone floor towards him.  Eddie hurried forward even as Riot turned towards them with a roar.  **_“VENOM!”_** it called out, taunting. ** _“YOU WILL NOT ESCAPE US AGAIN.  BUT GO AHEAD, LET YOUR HUMAN HOST BE DESTROYED ALONG WITH YOU.”_**

****

Venom paused, hesitating.  Eddie stared in disbelief, still moving forward.  “Venom, what are you doing?” he demanded.  “Riot’s just trying to scare you.  We beat him once, we can do it again.”  He reached down to the Symbiote and gathered it into his arms, where Venom shifted uneasily.  “Come on, love,” he murmured, keeping his voice down, well aware that Riot was watching them with malicious intent.  “We are Venom, remember.  I am yours, right?  Well, you are mine, too.  And you _cannot_ let Riot kill you.  Because after he kills you, he will kill me.”  He knew it was a low blow, but it was completely true, and it served its purpose.  Venom moved, sinking into him and then flowing over him.

 

 _“EDDIE IS OURS!”_ Venom roared defiantly.  But rather than charge Riot, which was obviously was the Symbiote was expecting, Venom turned and fled, taking Eddie with it.

 

 _EDDIE! WHERE IS IT? WHERE IS FURY?_ Venom asked, the sound of Riot giving chase far too close for comfort.

 

 _It’s gone,_ Eddie told him, guilt and regret warring inside him.  _It has a host, a female.  I wasn’t able to convince it that we wanted to help._

If he had been worried that Venom would be angry at him for failing at his task, he was very wrong.  The Venom suit around him tightened for the briefest moment, like a hug, and just like that, Eddie knew he was forgiven.

 

And then they leapt through the window.  Again.


	4. Chapter 4

Eddie flopped back onto his couch with a tired groan, throwing one arm over his closed eyes.  He was so _done_.  Done with Life Foundation, done with Riot, done with fucking SHIELD, who had somehow caught wind of the Symbiotes and sent the Avengers in to deal with them.  He was pretty sure that at least one of the Avengers was suspicious of his survival of the massacre that had occurred inside the Life Foundation building, but Stark had kept his silence, and Eddie resolved to do his damnedest to not draw their attention.  Venom was a good guy.  Sort of.

 

 _WE PROTECT EDDIE. WE PROTECT THIS PLANET.  IT IS OURS NOW,_ Venom told him, his tone clearly trying to be reassuring.

 

“I know, love,” Eddie sighed, letting his arm drop away from his eyes and over the side of the couch.  “But the Avengers don’t know you yet.  And usually, eating people is considered a bad thing.”

 

 _BUT WE ONLY EAT THE BAD GUYS!_ Venom protested indignantly, making Eddie chuckle.

 

“Bad guys are still people,” he pointed out reasonably.  Venom harrumphed, and Eddie’s grin widened.  “Look, if we come across any bad guys, you can still eat them,” he promised.  “But how about we don’t go actively looking for trouble for a little while, yeah?”

 

Venom considered that for a long moment before speaking.  _IF YOU SAY SO, EDDIE,_ it told him.  Followed almost immediately by _I WANT TATER TOTS._

 

Eddie laughed, sitting up and leaving the comfort of the couch to go feed his insatiable Symbiote some tater tots.  Contentment and satisfaction and love rolled through him, and he shivered.  He supposed he had one reason to be grateful to Life Foundation, after all.

 

“Yeah, me, too, love,” he agreed quietly.  “Me, too.” 

 


End file.
